The article:
Domino’s Pizza Incident-News broadcast

Domino’s president responds on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dem6eA7-

A2I&feature=related
Within a few days, the video had been viewed over a

million times on YouTube. People were also

commenting on it on Twitter and other social

networking Web sites. The video inflicted tremendous

brand damage on Domino’s and the fast-food industry

in general. Indeed, a national online survey by HCD

Research found that 65 percent of respondent s who

would previously order from or visit Domino’s Pizza

were less likely to do so after seeing the video.

Although the video was posted on a Monday night, the

company became aware of it only after a blogger

alerted them on Tuesday. Domino’s executives initially

decided to take no action, hoping that the hoopla over

the video would soon subside. They did not want to

attract even more people to the video by issuing a

formal press release to the news media. By Wednesday

it became apparent that the matter would not simply go

away and that just the opposite had occurred—there

were many posts on Twitter demanding Domino’s

reaction. The company was finally forced to take

action.

The employees responsible for the video were fired

from Domino’s. Even though they claimed at the video

was just a joke and that the food was never delivered,

they were charged with food tampering and face future

legal proceedings. The restaurant in Conover, North

Carolina, where the video was made, was closed for a

day so that it could be completely sanitized—all food

and paper products that were not sealed were thrown

out.

Domino’s ran into an unexpected delay in getting the

video pulled from the YouTube site—it as told by

YouTube that the signature of one of the employees

who created the video was needed since the account

holder was the copyright owner of the video. Domino’s

posted an apology to its customers on its Web site and

asked each employee with a Twitter account to tweet a

link to it. Domino’s also created its own Twitter

account so it could reassure customers that this was

unique incident. Finally, Domino’s U.S. president,

Patrick Doyle, uploaded his own video to YouTube. In

the video, he apologizes for the initial repulsive video

and clarifies his company’s commitment to food safety.

Question:
Social Media offers a variety of opportunities for

hospitality operations. However, there are challenges.

Please refer to the web-links provided about the

Domino’s Pizza Incident. Post your response to the

following questions:
1. Do you find it unusual that Domino’s response was

primarily through the online media rather than the usual

printed press releases? Does Domino’s use of the

online media set a precedent for others to follow in the

future? Does this seem to be an effective and

appropriate way to respond under these

circumstances? Why or why not? Please be sure to

carefully justify your response.
2. Research online news articles which talk about the

use of social media for public relation purposes and/or

crises management. Share these examples with

members of our class by including the web-links within

your discussion post. Please make sure that the

information you are sharing is unique and that it is not

already posted by others in our class (you will not earn

credit if you are posting information already shared by

others). Thank you